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Judge Orders Mediation Between Interfaith Hospital Owners and Supporters

  Interfaith Hospital's owners and supporters will sit down to discuss the issues facing the hospital, according to reports.
Interfaith Hospital's owners and supporters will sit down to discuss the issues facing the hospital, according to reports.
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DNAinfo/Michael Phillis

BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — Owners and supporters of Interfaith Medical Center in Bed-Stuy will sit down to discuss the issues facing the beleaguered hospital, according to reports.

A bankruptcy court on Wednesday ordered mediation hearings between the two parties, even as dozens of supporters picketed outside the Brooklyn courthouse, NY1 reported.

Supporters outside were hopeful after the judge's decision.

"We look forward to mediation of putting together a real plan for Interfaith Medical Center that takes into account a real community needs assessment as the community that surrounds Interfaith currently exists,” Eliza Carboni of New York State Nurses Association told the network.

The hospital ran into trouble in 2010, when the state reduced Medicaid reimbursements. The reimbursements were a key funding stream for the hospital, which serves a large low-income community.

The hospital's board of trustees has since worked with the state to try and close the facility, though the state Attorney General's Office has thus far deemed the board's closure plan unacceptable, giving the hospital a temporary reprieve.

The state also recently allocated $20 million to cover expenses through Dec. 31, NY1 reported.

Late last month a group of supporters sued the board of trustees for alleged mismanagement of the hospital, asking for the board and its attorneys to step down and for $55 million in reimbursements to the hospital.